[SeriousOne338]

OK I got bored and  built a Sniper,  been reading too much on this thread: http://forums.shadowrun4.com/index.php?topic=6553.0
Got my hands on the new War! book so I decided to make a run at it with a battle rifle. I have 8 build points left… what should I do with them?
 

Race: Human

Attributes:
B:3   A:5(7)   R:4(7)   S:3(5)    C:2   I:3   L:3(5)   W:3

Edge:2
Initiative: 7(10)
Initiative Passes: 1(2)
Essence: 2.734

Active Skills:
Athletics (Group): 3
Climbing, Gymnastics, Running, Swimming
Stealth (Group): 3
Disguise, Infiltration, Palming, Shadowing
-
Blades:3
Automatics: 5(+2)
    Battle Rifles
Pistols: 1
Heavy Weapons: 1(+2)
    Launch Weapons
Thrown Weapons:1(+2)
    Grenades
-
Negation: 3
Etiquette: 2(+2)
    Mercenary
Parachuting: 2

Knowledge Skills:
Procedures, Fireteams: 4
Firearms Design: 4
Security Design: 4
Mercenary Hangouts: 3

Languages:
Uto-Aztecan: Natural
English: 3

Qualities:
Black-market Pipeline: (Weapons) 10
Biocompatibility 10
Restricted Gear 5
Allergy Severe, uncommon (Silver) -15
Day Job 1000¥/10hrs (Bartender) -5
Records on File (Azltan) -10
SINner Standard -5


Contacts:
Supply Sergeant (L:3C:5)

Cyberware:
   Lone Star S.W.A.T. (watchman Edition) 2.02 essence (alphaware)
     TrumanTech Sunfire Flare Compensation, Thermographic Vision, & Smartlink eye modification. (signal eye)
     biogene TacBone RP Plastic Bone Lacing
     Transys Livewire Wired Reflexes (Rating 1)
   Dermal Plating
   Reaction Enhancer Rating: 2
   Data Jack (alphaware)
BioWare:
   Muscle Toner Rating: 2
   Muscle Augmentation Rating: 2
   Cerebral Booster Rating: 1(Betaware)

Weapons:
-AM-884 (Custom battle rifle)
    Extended Clip, Easy Breakdown, Electronic Firing, Silencer, Top Mount Smartlink, bipod, detachable scope
    -20 Clips (15 regular, 5 subsonic)
    -Sling
  -Colt Government 2066
    Extended Clip, Laser Sight, Silencer, Electronic Firing
    -20 Clips (15 regular, 5 subsonic)
    -Quick draw holster

-Tactical Tomahawk
-K-Bar (Knife)

10x Flash Bang Grenades
10x Hi Explosive Grenades

Armor:
Bike Raceing Armor (Chemical Protection: 2, Fire Resistance: 3)
Bike Racing Helmet (Chemical Protection: 2)

Moderate Life Style

Misc:
Climbing Gear
  -Grapple Gun
  -200M Rope
Survival Kit
Firearm Kit
HALO Parachute
Street Clothes/suits (500¥)
Fake ID Rating 4(Mike Smith)
Fake Weapons Licenses Rating 3
Fake Cyberware/bioware Licenses Rating 3
4 Disposable Comlinks

Emergency Go Bag:
Colt Government 2066


Starting Money: 4d6x100¥

[Lethe]

I have 8 build points left… what should I do with them?

5 BP for another restricted gear, 3 BP  for 15k Ny and upgrade Muscle Toner to 4.

[Liam oConnor]

Is his background supposed to be a (former) SWAT sniper? He lacks survivalskills to be more than a designated marksman in the military! So I'd suggest survival 1 and maybe tracking or navigation 1.
IMO, as a military sniper you're supposed to be able to operate independently with your spotter in foreign terrain for days and weeks if you have to, a little "scouting"-skills wouldn't hurt!
(Of course, these points are more about rounding out the character, than about effectivity)

[Ajax]

Given his LoneStar cyberware suite, battle rifle speciality, and and security/mercenary related skills, qualities, and contacts, I think that the character is meant to be a private military contractor marksman and not a scout-sniper.  Not every sharpshooter is a ghille-suit clad survivalist.

[Ted Fast]

I am new to Shadowrun but i have somethings to say.

1 You have to pick Cyberware or Bioware for Biocompatibility.

2 If you could scrape together 2 more BPs you could pick up Genetic Heritage for Genetic Optimization. (UmaroVI gave me that tip)

Reakt is excellent, but it actually makes more sense to Genetic Heritage for Genetic Optimization (what stat depends on what you value, Reaction is always a solid choice). The reasons are:

(a) Genetic Heritage is 45000Y, so you are paying 10 bp for 9 bp of free stuff and a 20% discount down the road on several good things (Reakt and Adapsin in particular). Reakt is only 30000Y so you are getting less for the same price.

(b) Starting with Genetic Heritage means you can pay an extra 10 bp to have a bit more Reaction out of the gate.

(c) Reakt is Transgenic, but Genetic Optimization isn't. So if you start with Genetic Optimization as your Genetic Heritage, you get 20% off buying Reakt later. Reverse it, and no discount for the Genetic Optimization later.

[/spoiler]

3 It has been pointed out to me again and again that it's actually better to buy specializations for Karma instead of BPs. You could do more with 14 BPs then 8 right?

[Liam oConnor]

Another hint, why survival isn't your worst option: Aztlan-background?
If he as worked as a mercenary on aztlan-territory, survival and tracking are both quite useful, even if he was the hacker of his unit.

@Lone-Star-SWAT-Suit: If I built this kind of soldier-character, I'd give him the SWAT-suit,too with or without SWAT background. It's the only official suit, that fits the concept, so slap another name on it and you've got the UCAS-Marines-cyber-suit, or whatever fits your game.

[Ajax]

Granted, there are at least as many verisions of Aztlan out there as there are Shadowrun GMs, but I'm not certain Survival or other wilderness skills is are all that important to having a military background, even if it did involve 'the balloon going up' in Aztlan. 

Modern day Mexico has plenty of rugged, nasty terrain and I have no doubt that it is still there in Aztlan.  But modern day Mexico is also home to some truly godawful sprawls, urban hellholes in our real world that would seem to be something that ought to exist only in Shadowrun's fictional world.  Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico City, Bogotá, and all sorts of other places in the region suck beyond the telling in real life... A merc might not have been working in Tenochtitlán (although, given its size and the depths of its shadows, he might have) but there are lost of other urban warzones in Aztlan.

Obvioussly, it isn't my character. Just fuel for the flame war.

[Crash_00]

I suggest dumping the four specializations (buy them after character creation cheaper) and picking up Perception at 4. You can't shoot what you can't see. Likewise, free up some money for Vision Enhancement on a pair of glasses/contacts. Drop Dermal Plating (it's really not that great, especially for your role) and pick up Attention Coprocessor in it's place. If you don't have the money to get it at Rating 3, pick it up second hand (it'll be a bit cheaper nuyen and essence wise). All together this will give you a DP of 13 for Perception checks, which means you can still get an average of 3 hits against chameleon coated targets.

I'd really look into other armor options.  The bike racing armor actually looks like it's leaving you encumbered right now. You could snag Full Body Form Fit (1600¥) and a Leather Jacket with Carbon Boron infusion (400¥) for a total encumbrance of 6/5 and armor rating of 9/6. You can easily fill that last piece of encumbrance with a pair of shin guards or forearm guards. In the end you'll still have a roughly biker look if that's what you were going for, but you'll be at your encumbrance rather than over (so no AGI/REA penalty). Then you can snag a Ruthenium Polymer Coated Poncho if you free up the money so you can act chameleon coated when sniping.